Professional sports owner gives $5M, gets USC department named after him
The University of South Carolina is naming its Department of Sport and Entertainment Management after some familiar names in professional football: Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper and his wife, Nicole.
With a $5 million gift from the David and Nicole Tepper Foundation, a nonprofit aimed at expanding equal opportunity, it is the first academic department at USC to be named with this level of philanthropic support, officials said.
“When students are part of a world-class program, it is more than just a point of pride,” Michael Sagas, dean of the College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management, said. “It is access to new possibilities, becoming part of something great and realizing that you can be the next professional to do something big in one of our industries.”
The donation builds on the existing Tepper Scholars Program, which began in 2020 with $1.5 million in support, and will endow it for all time. It provides four-year scholarships to four incoming students in the sport and entertainment management department. Students receive funding to cover a large part of tuition costs, as well as mentorship, enrichment opportunities and hands-on industry experience.
“The University of South Carolina has been a leader in hospitality, retail and sports management, producing graduates who understand services isn’t just a job, it’s a calling,” Nicole Tepper said. “It requires empathy, innovation and deep respect for people from all walks of life. My hope is that this department, now carrying our name, will continue to foster that spirit for generations to come.”
It also will create the Tepper Professors of Practice, which will support faculty focused on leadership and the business of professional sports and getting elite practitioner-educators into USC classrooms.
“On behalf of the entire university, I want to express our deep appreciation for the committed support that Nicole and David have generously provided for their visionary investment five years ago and for their ongoing support of our students, as well as our faculty,” USC President Michael Amiridis said.
The Teppers’ gift comes at a time when the university has received a steady stream of fundraising support. In the last fiscal year, USC raised more money than it ever had before. USC named its College of Arts and Sciences, its largest college, after businessman and alumnus Peter McCausland in April. It was the third USC school to be named in the last two years after significant donors.
The Panthers’ history in the Palmetto State
USC and the Carolina Panthers have not always worked in tandem. When the Panthers were established in 1993, USC’s athletic director Mike McGee refused to allow the team to play at Williams Brice Stadium while its own stadium was under construction in Charlotte, North Carolina. Some feared that a professional team in the Carolinas would detract from the fiercely held tradition of college football.
Tepper himself, who bought the Panthers in 2018 and established the MLS expansion team Charlotte FC in 2019, has had a relationship with South Carolina that has been wrought with tensions.
State lawmakers promised the Panthers more than $100 million in tax breaks to move the football team’s headquarters and operations to Rock Hill, before Tepper abruptly pulled the plug in 2022.
Tepper said the city of Rock Hill had failed to meet the terms of their agreement when it did not spend millions of dollars that the team needed to pay for additional public infrastructure improvements. But the city disagreed.
Construction had already been underway for some time, and South Carolina taxpayers had already footed the bill for a $40 million interchange off Interstate 77 meant to serve the planned facility.
“He’s a multi-billionaire. To be squeezing municipalities out of tax money they need for schools and infrastructure is unconscionable,” former state Sen. Dick Harpootlian, D-Richland, told The State in 2022.
Gov. Henry McMaster said Tuesday that while he was sorry the full practice facility was not completed, the interchange needed to be built anyway. He added that he was pleased with the news of the Teppers’ donation to USC.
“I’m just delighted that we have public-spirited people who want to give money to this great university, and I encourage them to keep it up,” McMaster said, “because that helps keep the tuition down and makes those program courses stronger.”
Joseph Bustos contributed to this article.
This story was originally published October 14, 2025 at 11:05 AM.
